Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1887-10-27
WOMAN AND HOME.
ABlT OF HOUSEKEEPING DONE BY
TWO RAILROAD MEN.

Decorative Hints Worth Heeding-Help-
ing Baby to Walk-Creole's Old Fash
toned Ideas-Lack of Ciesnliness-Seeret
of Economy~-London Shopping.
Let me tell you of bit of housekeeping
done one winter by two men; and because it
helped them to be better when they might
have easily grown worse, and because by
means of it they were enabled to make cheer
full a winter which had hidden fair to be
dreary, think we must call it good house
keeping. The last trip of the train on which
they were employed took them away from
home late in the evening, and left them for
the nights and Sundays at the terminus of a
short branch line.
The elder was an engineer, who by reason
of his recent promotion to that position had
not yet attained full pay, and had just gone
to housekeeping in plain, everyday fashion
which he hoped to better by and by. dare
say he had married far too young, and his
wife was quite inexperienced, and learned
how to keep house by dint of doing it. But
because of the wife and baby, and the house
keeping, he did not feel able to pay for lodg-
ing and Sunday meals away from home.
So he decided to carry his food from home,
and sleep in the round house (the building
where the locomotive was stored, and he was
very glad to get companion in the person OF
the new brakeman, just commencing railroad
life. He was q lad of IS, fresh from an up
country home, fairly pushed out of the home
nest, loving shelter though it had been to
him, by the pressure of the numerous younger
brothers and sisters, and he had not only to
shift for himself, but to help these dear ones
if he found that lie could. He was a good
lad, full of right intentions, but of course
ready to be influenced by his companions and
surroundings.
They asked for and obtained some hunks
and some car cushions in lieu Of mattresses,
and with thick dark quilts from home and
the glowing fire in the huge stove they were
very comfortable as far as lodging was con-
cerned. But the Sundays were not SO pleas
ant. 4 locomotive round house has few
charms as a dwelling. This particular one
had in its favor that, not being on the main
line, it held only the one locomotive, and the
fire being dumped on Saturday night there
was neither smoke nor steam; but such places
are never over clean. Then they were obliged
to wear working clothes for the trip up ON
Saturday night, and they did not feel neat
nor well dressed, nor could they so attired at
tend church.
The engineer pondered the matter much.
These were not the Sundays for which he had
planned. My knights of the dinner pail re-
solved, first of all, that they would dress as
wei on Sunday as they would have done if
at home Their bags We're packed with clean
linen and their Sunday suits were carried up
on Saturday night 1t was an easy matter
to drive up nails to hang up the working
suits.
They spread down clean sacking where
were no boards; it was easily taken up, shaken
and folded away during the week. A piece
of iron bar heated in the glowing Goals of the
stove and dropped into a pail of water
warmed it sufficiently for sponge bath, and
that and clean clothes restored the feeling OF
tidiness they had so missed.
Those same glowing Goals suggested the
possibility of giving their food a little more
of a home like aspect. The thing grew, plates,
cups and saucers and the like, We're carried
from home and kept in a locked cupboard.
They gathered together vinegar, pepper, salt,
mustard, pepper sauce, horse radish, bottle
of pickles, carried crackers, butter, and such
things in small quantities, and a tin dish or
two. There are great many cooking posi-
biities in quart tin dipper and a good fire.
The bread was carried in the loaf that it
might not dry SO soon as if sliced. A little
tin pail of baked beans was carried every
Saturday by the engineer; the brakeman
brought another of oysters, and these last
were stewed in little saucepan that easily
went in at the stove door. A piece of sheet
iron just large enough to slide in at the same
aperture. had its edges turned up on three
sides, and served excellently to roast oysters
or clans in the shell. A wire bread toaster
answered admirably for meat broiler if
they preferred beefsteak to oysters. A firmly
propped up board served for a table, and
round, solid sticks Of wood, with square
boards nailed on them, made seats.
The meals over and the dishes tidily washed
ND, they were fit for church, and often went.
They carried books and papers from home
and read them aloud. Of course there were
innumerable jokes at their expense, but out
of their comfort and tidiness they could afford
to laugh with the jokers. And the laughers
were glad to come in of an afternoon, and
, enjoy the fire and the last illustrated paper
After that winter the two were never
again in such close companionship. The lad
became first q fireman and then an engineer
on anOUuef IOdu, anu Iipeiieu llito u Sttduy,
reliable man, a stay and comfort to those de-
pendent upon him. He sometimes met his
old mentor and alluded to the winter when
they had passed Their Sundays together in the
roundhouse as time Of profit, and gave evil
dence that the good home habits with which
he had gone out into the world were then con-
firmed and strengthened to last him through
his brief life.
For while yet young in manhood, one night
in early spring. the track slid away under his
engine, carrying the train down steep en-
bankment to the rocky bed of a river.
Though fatally burned by escaping steam, he
struggled out of the heavy impeding coat,
climbed the height, heaven knows how, and
staggered in the early dusk, blinded by fall
ing snow half mile down the track, to ap-
pear before n standing train reeling, sway
ing figure. hatless. coatless and with visage
so blackened and distorted as to be unrecog-
nizable, shouting incoherent words of warm
ing. And yet no one who knew him evinced
any surprise when his story was told in pub
lie print. 'It was like him." they said.-H.
Annette Poole in Good Housekeeping.
What Mrs. Brown Thought.
"Where have you been?" asks Mrs. Brown